1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle seats. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle seat configured to prevent its frame from bending when being moved from an installed position to an access position (e.g., pop-up or release position).
2. Background Information
A vehicle seat is generally fixed to a vehicle body. However, sometimes, the vehicle seat needs to be removed from the vehicle for various reasons such as maintenance or repair. In this regard, the vehicle seat may include hooks, which can be coupled to a latching device installed to the vehicle body. For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Application No. (Hei) 05-001347 discloses a seat mounting arrangement has a seat cushion with a metal frame that is releasably coupled to the vehicle body by a pair of rear latches located at a rear end of the frame and a pair of front latches located at a front end of the frame. The rear end of the wire frame is coupled to a wire frame of a seat back by hooks so that the seat can be removed. The seat cushion can be removed by applying a vertical lifting force to release the engagement force of one pair of the latches while the other pair of latches acts as a pivoting structure. Another example of a seat mounting arrangement is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. (Hei) 11-34709. In this publication, the seat mounting arrangement has a seat cushion with a wire frame that is releasably coupled to the vehicle body by a pair of grommets at a front end of the wire frame. The rear end of the wire frame is coupled to a wire frame of a seat back by hooks so that the seat can be removed.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle seat. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.